Total E&P says Nigeria remains viable petroleum industry
Total Exploration and Production has said that petroleum industry in Nigeria remains viable and would get better with policies that enhance investor confidence even if oil prices falter from time to time.
The company maintained that Policies that ensure stability of the fiscal regime, sanctity of contracts and other legislations that are consistent with international best practices will increase viability in Nigeria.
“Globally, we hope that the oil prices get better than today’s figures but we may still be far from the days when oil prices hovered above $100 a barrel. Until that time comes and even in an era of prosperity, the benefit of hindsight is that the petroleum industry will have to proceed with more prudence than it did before”.
Abiodun Afolabi, the company’s Executive Director Corporate Service who disclosed this during a media parley at the just concluded Society of Petroleum Engineer Conference and Exhibition held in Lagos said the company is unflinchingly committed to the future of Nigeria.
On the company’s commitment to gas development in the country he said, the company has15% equity participation in Nigeria LNG LTD. It also supplies a daily contract quantity of close to 20 ms3/day of gas to the existing NLNG Trains 1 – 6 facility with a potential increase in gas supply based on the expansion plans for Train 7.
“In the growing domestic market, the company, as partner in the NNPC/Shell/Total and Agip joint venture(JV), participates in the business of supplying some 0.7 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day. This gas feeds most of the gas-fired power plants in Nigeria today”.
As regards the on-going Gas-to- Power initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria, he said, TOTAL, as partner in the Shell JV, built the Afam VI, 650MW Power Plant, which currently feeds the National grid.
He said Total has played a significant role in the drive to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, gas flaring in Nigeria through the Ofon Phase 2 and OML58 Upgrade Projects with start-up dates in 2014 and 2015 respectively. “These have contributed to the World campaign against greenhouse gas emissions and its resultant negative impact on climate change, and conversely led to increased monetization of gas through export”.
TOTAL through the NNPC/ Total Exploration and Production Nigeria (TEPNG) JV is currently supporting the Nigeria Gas Master plan , adding that joint venture JV has embarked and delivered on critical projects like the 50km Northern Option Pipe Line (NOPL) and Obite-Ubeta-Rumuji Pipeline (OUR), linking our gas supply to Imo River where it joins the domestic gas network in the Eastern Sector of Nigeria.
Total he maintained has made a commitment to deliver 300MMscf/day of gas to the domestic market, corresponding to the capacity of its gas transportation infrastructure.
“Against this backdrop, TOTAL has received a number of Gas Purchase Orders (GPOs) from the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN). The first GPO was for supply of 100MMscf/d to Alaoji Power Station. The second GPO is to supply 126MMscf/d of gas to Indorama Petrochemicals proposed Methanol Plant for start-up in 2019. A third GPO to cover the remaining capacity of the NOPL i.e. 74MMscf/day, is currently being discussed with GACN”, he said.
Olusola Bello